When Joe Schilling and other local first responders attended a seminar on child car seat safety a few years ago, he and the rest figured it would be a waste of his time.

Far from it.

Schilling, of the Kirksville Fire Department and Adair County Ambulance District, and the others learned a lot, he said, and were stunned to find how far they were from properly installing a car seat. They returned to Kirksville with that knowledge, and for most of the last decade have been helping those in need keep children safe through the Car Seat Safety Program.

Thursday, Northeast Regional Medical Center CEO Eric Barber and Chief Nursing Officer Cindy Carter were on hand to present a $2,000 check to Schilling and the program. It was the third straight year NRMC has sponsored the program, which was originally supported by grants and aims to provide car seats to those in need, be it from financial stress, a car accident, home fire or more.

“If you’re in need, if you have the paperwork to back it up that you have government assistance, then we have carseats available for you,” Schilling said. “But we’re also here for the people. If someone has a car wreck and their seat is no longer good, we’ve issued some for people like that. If they’ve had their homes burn and their cars were in their garages, we’ve helped with that. We’re basically here to fill a need for the community.”

The fire department also offers checks of carseats to make sure they meet current safety standards and are properly installed. In some cases, car seats have been provided through the program to those with a seat that has been recalled or doesn’t meet those standards.

“We want to make sure every kid leaves here safer than when they got here,” Schilling said.

Barber said NRMC’s support of the program simply makes sense.

“Hospitals are always treating a problem after it happens, and we’ve shifted our focus to preventing problems from happening. This program certainly fits into that, as well,” he said.

“I think it goes back to doing our part for the community and supporting programs that relate to the safety and health of the community. I think as the CEO of the hospital, I see this as something one of the largest employers in town should get behind.”